Day 12 - Drive to West Yellowstone

I will post pics later of this day, but I am just running out of adjectives to describe the sights of God's creation that we are seeing and experiencing. The few little pics we put up on this blog just does not come close to it. We left Billings MT at 9:30 AM and arrived in West Yellowstone at 2:00 PM. We spent the afternoon doing much needed routine maintenance on the camper and getting our 3-day itinerary together for Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. The ride on US Route 191 from Bozeman MT to West Yellowstone was breath taking! We officially ended our westward journey in Bozeman MT at 12:15 PM Mountain Time and began our southern journey for the next 12 days before we start our eastward journey to Virginia. I am so grateful that I am able to check this adventure off of my bucket list.

Day 10 and 11 - Drive to and stay in Montana

Yesterday (Day 10) we traveled from South Dakota to Billings Montana. As with all of our drives in this part of the country, it was absolutely gorgeous. But let me tell you (and warn you if you ever come this way) about US Route 212. If you look at a map of this area, I-90 will take you from Rapid City SD to Billings MT, but it does a U down through Wyoming and back up to Montana. If you have a Garmin GPS, well, she doesn't like you going out of your way although the interstate may be a much better drive in terms of lanes and speed. So, Ms. Garmin puts us on US Route 212 in South Dakota on the Wyoming border and reconnected us to I-90 about 60 miles east of Billings. I would say that technically it did save us about 60 minutes versus staying on I-90. Fortunately, we had been driving at the point of entry to US Route 212 about 90 min and something told me to top off the gas tank and feed the family and it was a good thing I did because there was no warning to do so otherwise. US Route 212 is about 200 miles of a two lane road (with very little traffic so that was good) that runs through a brief section of Wyoming before entering Montana, Custer National Forest, two Indian Reservations, and miles and miles of farms and rock formations. At least 75% of the time we had no cell service. There were no gas stations or places to eat. There were miles and miles of seclusion. At least 50% of the time we had to resort to AM Radio just to get music (where was my satellite radio when I needed it). I really wasn't worried (I know that people who know me best have a hard time believing that), but I was glad to see I-90 and diesel since I had about 90 miles to E! After leaving South Dakota around 11:30 AM, we arrived at the very first KOA ever built in Billings MT on the Yellowstone River about 5:30 PM. The area is absolutely breath taking. We decided to stay an extra night giving up a night of rest half on our way to Bryce Canyon making this Saturday a very long drive for us, but we are glad we decided to just stop and do nothing for a day to catch up on rest and relaxation. Today (Day 11) we did the Wal-Mart run to re-stock, hung out by the pool, washed clothes, played putt-putt, and hiked along the Yellowstone River. Tomorrow we will be on our way to Yellowstone for a three day, four night stay.

Day 8 and 9 - Jewel Cave & The Badlands

On Day 8 we visited Jewel Cave National Monument. We took an one hour and half tour down into the cave. This cave is the second longest in the world with approximately 150 miles already mapped and more to be explored. Spelunking anyone? After the cave exploration, Teresa, Jordan, and I went on an one and half hour horse back trail ride in the Black Hills National Forrest. This campground has 88 horses offering different types of trail rides. We saw mostly deer, but just to go riding through the National Forest was breath taking. Yesterday (Day 9) we left early this morning for the Badlands. On the way we rode through a three mile long bear sanctuary that also included animals native to this area such as wolves, buffalo, different species of bears and deer, etc. Definitely worth the money. From there we stopped at a place call the Wall Drug. The signs along the highway and the actual place reminded me of South of the Border, but on a larger scale. It was basically a big flea market with a few treasures, but mostly junk in my opinion (you just have to Google it to understand what this place is). After lunch we traveled the 21 mile loop through the Badlands National Park with many lookouts along the way. It was an absolute amazing display of God's beauty that pictures we see on the Internet or in the history books does not do it justice. Wait until you see the pics from both of these places that we have visited. Today (Day 10) we will be off to Billings Montana for a stop over on our way to West Yellowstone for a three day visit of Yellowstone National Park. This has truly been an amazing trip so far. Everyone is getting along for the most part (of course we have our moments). We have had Internet service, but no cable hookup yet. Most campgrounds expect you to have your own satellite, which we don't. So we have not see much TV, which is ok with me except we feel a little out of touch with the latest news. Until tomorrow...

Day 7 - Mount Rushmore National Memorial

On this day after I cooked a fantastic breakfast for everyone, we visited the quaint town of Hill City, SD and had a great lunch at a restaurant called Desperado. After we left, we went to Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The ride up and the surrounding mountain side was absolutely gorgeous. It was neat to learn more in depth about the making of this monument and to get up close to it. We could not believe how well we could see the details of each President. The rest of the day was enjoying what the campground has to offer and cooking hotdogs over the fire. Today we are going Jewel's Cave and horse back riding in the National Forest.

Day 6 - The Long Drive to South Dakota

Not much to report on this day. This was the longest driving day of our entire trip. We left the suburbs of Omaha at 9:30 AM Central Time (10:30 Mountain Time) and arrived at the best campground we have ever stayed in so far (since we started camping in 2002) at 7:30 PM Mountain Time. Of course the way we went (I-80) across Iowa to the base near Omaha was not the most direct route to I-90, which is the route that brings you into Rapid City where you will find Mount Rushmore National Park, Jewels Cave National Monument, Wind Cave National Park, Badlands, and the Crazy Horse Memorial. We learned quickly with the base in Omaha that even though they are cheaper and a good place to stay for one night in route somewhere, they are not as kid friendly as a private campground are so we made a last minute change from Ellsworth AFB here in Rapid City to this KOA (luckily they had a site that just happen to come available) and what a smart move it was. It has two pools and hot tubs, free putt putt, horse back riding, all you can eat pancakes for $2.50/person, all kinds of kids activities, and we are just minutes from the National Parks. The ride across South Dakota especially after we crossed the Missouri River was just absolutely beautiful. There was very little traffic making it an easy, but tiring drive. After dinner and a few s'mores, we crashed.

Day 5 - A day in Omaha (Offutt AFB, NE)

All I can say is that I am thankful for warranties and prayers! My truck was in the shop all day having the turbo boost replaced. This is a $2,000.00 repair without a warranty, but it only cost me another $100.00 deductible. Don't worry, Teresa is spending everything I am saving at the BX and Commissary. So I am thankful for a good drink at the end of the day as well. It makes everything better. When the Ford dealership looked for a rental car for me, there were not any to be found in the Omaha area because the College World Series is happening here in downtown Omaha. Part of the reason for the bad traffic yesterday. I had thought about taking Forrest to the South Carolina & Arizona St. Game today at 3:00, but I was worried that the van I was given by the dealership would not make it to downtown Omaha (see pic above...I'm sorry you can't hear the squeaky brakes or see the rust). We had fun getting on the base with this van. The security police were definitely suspicious. After Teresa spent all that I saved with the warranty on my truck, we went to the base pool for a couple hours. The dealership said my truck wouldn't be ready until tomorrow afternoon, but they were just super to deal with and they had me rolling again this afternoon. Since it was ready this evening, we are back on schedule heading to South Dakota early in the morning. Not sure if we will stop for the night half way or go all the way to Rapid City, which is an 8 hour drive. The Omaha area had 3 inches of rain on Sunday and we had a thunderstorm last night & rain this morning. Everything near us is flooded, but the campground is dry. We are just a few miles from the Missouri River. What used to be fields are now river basins. The campground is small, but nice. Most sites are concrete pads. We have a back in site, which I don't particularly like, but I have really gotten good at backing up the camper on an angle. Well, it is time to eat and then whip Forrest in a game of basketball.

Day 4 - Illinois to Nebraska

We left Illinois around 11:45 AM on what should have been a relatively short and easy trip to Nebraska. We crossed the Mississippi and entered Iowa rather quickly and started our long journey across the flat lands of Iowa. There were corn fields, cattle, horses, and wind turbines as far as the eyes could see. Our next destination was Offutt AFB Family Campground on the base lake just inside the Nebraska border near Omaha. Teresa picked up two more bugs through her window. I was just waiting for one to land in her mouth while she was resting. Half way through the 300 miles across Iowa, the truck Emission Light came on, again. So it will be off to another Ford dealership this morning. We thought we would be at the campground for once before 8:00 and we did arrive at 6:30 PM after being lost for 45 minutes and Chicago's traffic was nothing compared to the rush hour traffic I encountered around Omaha probably the reason we got turned around. I was ready for a few strong drinks once we finally arrived! I am glad we have a day of rest today before another long drive tomorrow to Rapid City SD. Today, we will hit the base pool, commissary, and maybe the bowling alley or a movie. We are excited about our next destination with at least five National Parks to visit and maybe a side trip to North Dakota (just over an hour from our next campground).